ORLANDO, Fla. -- College students around Florida rallied Monday to demand the arrest of a white neighborhood watch captain who shot an unarmed black teen last month, though authorities may be hamstrung by a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.

<quoted text>Shame on you -- you're not a newbie. The BURDEN resides with THE STATE to prove to the jury that a defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt, by presenting evidence which consists of testimony and exhibits.Have you forgetting Cheney Mason's closing arguments to the jury - the defense is NOT required to prove a defendant's innocence and is legally entitled to rest without presenting any evidence at all!

<quoted text>He went on talk shows and changed his story and lied. He made it evidence. He should have kept his mouth shut. I do hope he insists on taking the stand.

Are you suggesting Mark O'Mara has been playing both sides of the table -- by facilitating high profile media activity which fuelled public sensationalism towards his client, while at the same time proclaiming his duty to defend his innocence...."donate now"!

<quoted text>If he changed his story 50 times, that doesn't make him a murderer because he was not under oath on the Sean Hannity show. So I'm still waiting for somebody to point to what Zimmerman did that made this into a murder charge.

I'd like to see in which law handbook it has been REwritten where defense attorneys should accompany their clients to blab their story to the media, prior to trial.

A defense in which the defendant introduces evidence, which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal or civil liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. Self-defense, entrapment, insanity, and necessity are some examples of affirmative defenses. See, e.g. Beach v. Ocwen Fed. Bank, 523 U.S. 410 (1998).

*******"Negating criminal lability" refers to mitigating circumstances....add the use of drugs or alcohol to the above list.

However nowhere, by virtue of default, does an affirmative defense absolve the state from responsibility of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty as charged, in order to convict.

<quoted text>So then the State should have charged GZ with lying, but they didn't. It's only common sense to file charges based upon evidence that a reasonable chance of a conviction.However if Mark O'Mara does not put forth ANY defense on behalf of GZ, all his public appeals to fund a defense including paying for expert witnesses will look mighty suspicious.

WTF are you babbling about? The Sanford Police Department treated George as a friend of law enforcement from the get go, well before the department even had a clue who the deceased was. If George was lying, the SPD didn't give a sht...they simply bagged and tagged the John Doe and sent it along already knowing that it was just one more of Sanford's finest perps killed in the line of duty.

The state, aka the Seminole-Brevard States Attorneys office apparently never checked in publicly , at least not that we know of.

Governor Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi pulled the case from the 18th district states attorneys office and issued it to Angela Corey's distant office. At that point it was known by all that someone inside law enforcement made an error in judgement during the very first hours of the Zimmerman case.

<quoted text>Wrong. If this jury finds Zimmerman guilty of second degree murder, it puts fear in all people wishing to defend themselves legally. It is a major blow because Zimmerman did nothing illegal, and yet he's being tried for murder without an ounce of proof.If that isn't scary, then I don't know what is.

Wrong, if Z piss is found guilty of murder, it will put fear in stupid klan monkeys like you from shooting unarmed Blacks and Hispanics that are minding their own business.Lol!!!!!!!!!!Lol!!!!!!!!!!Lol!!!!!!!!!!

<quoted text>If he changed his story 50 times, that doesn't make him a murderer because he was not under oath on the Sean Hannity show. So I'm still waiting for somebody to point to what Zimmerman did that made this into a murder charge.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSEA defense in which the defendant introduces evidence, which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal or civil liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. Self-defense, entrapment, insanity, and necessity are some examples of affirmative defenses. See, e.g. Beach v. Ocwen Fed. Bank, 523 U.S. 410 (1998).

"As the state wound down its presentation, it called Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, to identify her son as the person screaming in the background of a 911 call made during his confrontation with Zimmerman.

Eight hours later, the defense called as its first witness Gladys Zimmerman, who told the court she was certain the screams came from her son. The defense case continues on Monday."

<quoted text>Where is the proof that zimmerman followed Martin for no more than ten seconds?There are none so blind as those who will not see, especially, m/f c/s lying mooches such as yourself, Pinocchio.

Wait and see, somebody will find the video downloaded somewhere on the Internet. LOL

Today's witnesses included two women who have given birth to sons. The contrast between them was striking.

The first to testify showed no emotion as she spoke of her dead son, as she listened to what she claims to believe are his screams for help, even as she heard the gunshot that ended his life. She didn't even flinch at the sound of that gunshot. The only emotion she showed during her testimony was some HoDede-style annoyance at having to be bothered to answer questions.The second looked lovingly at her son, gave him a small smile of encouragement, and there was love in her voice as she testified about him, and pain as she heard his cries for help. She was polite and respectful to attorneys from both sides.Five of the six jurors are mothers. They could not have helped but put themselves in the place of those two women as they listened to them talk about their sons and saw their reactions to the tape. I know which one I believed, and I'm willing to be that those five moms on the jury believed the same one I did. The only positive thing that Sybrina (the incubator) Martin did for her son today was to bring some clarity as to why this seventeen year old was a violent animal. Raised with an absent father and a cold, uncaring mother, the kid never stood a chance of becoming a normal person.

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